Friday, August 20, 2010

Taboo

I thought I'd be able to get through this summer without a single mosquito bite. Failed. My neck has a lump that's fast entering goiter size and my left foot is swollen from a bite so badly, it hurts. Today, the bite mark turned black like a bruise. Not good. I'm so allergic to bug bites, I should roll around in a bubble outside.

On Wednesday, my friend had her barbeque (where I picked up the bites); we burnt a lot of food to a crisp because we didn't want to pick up salmonella and then of course, we assessed the crispiness because we didn't want carcinogenic properties. Basically, we ate a whole lot, hung out with her golden retriever, and played Taboo. Except when you have a bunch of really competitive med students together, the clues we start giving get ... interesting. 

"This is what you give albuterol for!"

"ASTHMA!"

"What are we studying to be? But not primary care! Okay, what does this specialized person use?"

"SCALPEL!"

"This is where we purchase attires ... oh forget it, blank junction!"

"GAP!"

Yes, by interesting, I did mean way nerdy.

Of course, I'm a tad more eloquent and cool so I threw out a few gems of my own:

"Yo, this has a red ass."

"BABOON!"

Went out to lunch yesterday with a friend (she's also doing med - entering this year) and then we checked out Bed Bath & Beyond so that she can pick up some supplies for her dorm. It was nice to catch up since we hadn't sat down face to face in over a year now; especially lovely to do so while perusing cedar balls (only wish this were an interesting euphemism) and cushions. She got this giant under-bed storage box that's about her size which the saleslady wrapped up with two pieces of saran wrap before handing it back to friend; so she lugged it onto the train back to her place like a bulky surfboard ... or mini coffin. 

Folks were also passing out free samples of Science Diet dog treats on the streets so I swooped in to grab two bags for my friend's golden retriever. Now they just need to pass out free treats for humans, like chocolates and ice cream bars. Yes, please.

Studying for my exam next week has not been going well. Barely made a dent in neurology and I still have behavioral sci to review. I barely remember behavioral sci, but I have convinced myself I could go at it in one day since it should mostly be psych and child development stages. Yeah, this will probably come back to kick me in the butt in the upcoming weekend. Who else hates that summer is coming to an end?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Offensive Touching

Fav cousin - a recent law school graduate - was sprawled on the couch, exhausted from taking different bar exams three days in a row. A paper wristband - a lot like the kind they sometimes slip on you when you go clubbing - was still looped around her wrist, announcing that she was a proud bar exam survivor.

I sat on the edge of the sofa next to her, watching our older cousin's babies wreak havoc.

So engrossed was I by the utter chaos two little beings could sustain, I jumped when she poked me in the side. I turned and the expression on her face was of this tired dismay. "Sorry!" she blurted out. "Offensive touching!"

Haha, someone's been studying too much.


Speaking of babies, the older cousin recently announced that a third one is on his/her way. When she asked her eldest, her four year old son, if she wanted another baby sister or a baby brother, he said, "Why are you having so many? One is enough."

Ah, kids.


Recently watched Inception. Went into lab to help out with sensors drawings for my old mentor. Hung out with people, ate a whole lot. A friend's friend made the trek in from another state, but still missed dinner, catching us just as we were about to say good-bye so some of us accompanied him for late dinner part two because he bribed us with two bottles of yogurt soju and popsicles. We are easy folks.

Celebrated a friend's birthday. Caught up with some old news and envied some friends for the trips they have planned (Hawaii! Prague! Argh!) Studied only a little even though the first day of school - and hence, my exam - is coming up next week. How does summer pass by so fast? How?

Tomorrow, there's a bbq at a friend's place which is at the ends of the world so I'm aiming to squeeze in more studying on the long train ride (Which means I will probably end up passing out and taking a long nap instead).

So ... summer's been fun. Too bad it feels so short. I managed to read quite a bit - and by that, I mean I just wandered into the library and grabbed a bunch of random books off the shelves, ranging from Dan Brown's Deception Point to Jennifer Cruise's Getting Rid Of Bradley to Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon to Meg Cabot's Insatiable. And various others. Totally arbitrary haha. Loved some, liked some, deemed some forgettable. All in all, I enjoyed just being able to read for leisure without some immediate exam or deadline breathing down my neck, yay.

Writing Status: 8 pages into TM Chapter 29.